For other uses, see Ousia (disambiguation).

Ousia is the Greek word for essence or substance[1]. Initially it was a technical term used by Greek philosophers such as Plato and most importantly Aristotle. Ousia may refer to: The philosophical term from Greek meaning essence. ... In philosophy, essence is the attribute (or set of attributes) that make an object or substance what it fundamentally is. ... A philosopher is a person devoted to studying and producing results in philosophy. ... Plato Plato (Greek: Πλάτων, Plátōn) (c. ... Aristotle (Ancient Greek: Aristotelēs 384 BC – March 7, 322 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher, who studied with Plato and taught Alexander the Great. ...

Aristotle used the term in his creation of phyla for animals in biology. Aristotle used substance and hypostasis in the sense that one would be a general existence -hypostasis, the other "substance or ousia" would refer to specific individual things or beings. Aristotle (Ancient Greek: Aristotelēs 384 BC – March 7, 322 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher, who studied with Plato and taught Alexander the Great. ... Scientific classification or biological classification refers to how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ...

Martin Heidegger used the term in relation to Aristotle to mean being and apousia to mean being-ness and the term hypostasis to mean existence. Martin Heidegger Martin Heidegger (September 26, 1889 – May 26, 1976) was a German philosopher. ...

Origen, (c. 182 – c. 251) used it when he said God is one genus of ousia yet three distinct species of hypostasis: namely the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Origen (ca. ... In Christianity, the Greek word hypostasis [1] is usually translated into Latin as natura and then into English as nature, although the specific Greek word for nature and substance is physis. ...

The Synods of Antioch in 264-268 condemned the term homoousios (same substance) because of its Greek language and philosopher roots. The Gnostics said Jesus and God were homoousios (of same substance). The Catholic Encyclopedia article on Paul of Samosata [2] states: Beginning with three synods convened between 264 and 269 in the matter of Paul of Samosata, more than thirty councils were held in Antioch in ancient times. ... Gnosticism is a blanket term for various religions and sects most prominent in the first few centuries A.D. General characteristics The word gnosticism comes from the Greek word for knowledge, gnosis (γνῶσις), referring to the idea that there is special, hidden mysticism (esoteric knowledge) that only a few possess. ... The Catholic Encyclopedia (also referred to as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia today) is an English-language encyclopedia published in 1913 by the The Encyclopedia Press, designed to give authoritative information on the entire cycle of Catholic interests, action and doctrine. // History The writing of the encyclopedia began on January 11... Paul of Samosata, patriarch of Antioch (260-269), Life Paul was born at Samosata into a family of humble origin. ...

It must be regarded as certain that the council which condemned Paul rejected the term homoousios; but naturally only in a false sense used by Paul; not, it seems because he meant by it an unity of Hypostasis in the Trinity (so St. Hilary), but because he intended by it a common substance out of which both Father and Son proceeded, or which it divided between them, — so St. Basil and St. Athanasius; but the question is not clear. The objectors to the Nicene doctrine in the fourth century made copious use of this disapproval of the Nicene word by a famous council.

The First Council of Nicaea in 325 debated the terms homoousios and homoiousios. The word homoousios means "same substance", whereas the word homoiousios means "similar substance". The council affirmed the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Godhead) are of the homoousious (same substance). This is the source of the english idiom "differ not by one iota." Note that the words homoousios and homoiousios differ only by one 'i' (or the Greek letter iota). Thus, to say two things differ not one iota, is to say that they are the same substance. The First Council of Nicaea, convoked by the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great in AD 325, was the first ecumenical conference of bishops of the Christian Church. ...

The Chalcedonian Creed of 451 stated God is one ousia yet three hypostases. The Chalcedonian Creed was adopted at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 in Asia Minor. ...

Saint Gregory Palamas was an Eastern Orthodox saint and teacher of the uncreated energies and their relationship to the essence or ousia of the godhead. What is important is that the energies lay outside of the godhead. Gregory Palamas had also a very different history in his teachings which state that the uncreated energy is actually energies like Truth, Love, Justice. This is incontrast to the Neoplatonism of the source or uncreated energy. Gregory Palamas (1296 - 1359) was a monk of Mount Athos in Greece, and later became Archbishop of Thessalonica. ... In Christianity, the Godhead is a term denoting deity or divinity. ... Neoplatonism (also Neo-Platonism) is a school of philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century A.D. Based on the teachings of Plato and the Platonists, it contained enough unique interpretations of Plato that some view Neoplatonism as substantively different from what Plato wrote and believed. ...

External links

• Catholic Encyclopedia: Homoousion